The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged Thursday amid uncertainty about how volatile energy prices will affect inflation.

The central bank for the 21 countries that use the euro currency left its benchmark rate unchanged at 2.25% following a quarter-point hike at its previous meeting June 11. That increase was aimed at dampening the impact on consumer prices from higher oil prices due to the US-Iran war and subsequent interruption of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

President Donald Trump on Thursday said an agreement being reached with Saudi Arabia for a civilian nuclear program requires the kingdom to normalize relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords.

In a post on social media, the Republican president said the deal doesn’t allow for enrichment of uranium.

In the span of a single week, the dismissal of a Ukrainian defense minister set in motion a transformation of the country's armed forces that replaced the old guard with a new generation of leadership.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's decision to fire his popular defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, triggered days of public protest that quickly shifted toward the country's commander-in-chief and highlighted the growing rift over the future of Ukraine's military.

The Houthi rebels' threat to blockade Saudi Arabia has the potential to widen the Iran war and further disrupt global oil supplies and international trade.

The Iran-backed rebels say they have closed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Saudi-linked shipping in retaliation for the kingdom's blockade on Yemen and a recent attack on the international airport in Yemen's rebel-held capital, Sanaa. The Houthis said on Thursday they had attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, causing fires to break out on both.

France's new coach will be announced next Tuesday, when Zinedine Zidane is widely expected to replace Didier Deschamps.

The French Football Federation said in a statement on Thursday that its president Philippe Diallo will name the coach at a news conference at the headquarters in Paris.

Thousands of young protesters were camped on the streets of India's capital New Delhi on Thursday, defying new restrictions in the latest show of strength for a movement that has become one of the biggest challenges to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

India's "Cockroach" protests began more than a month ago over alleged leaks in some of the country's most competitive entrance exams for medical colleges and government jobs. The movement has since expanded beyond exam grievances, drawing professionals and families while channeling broader frustration.

U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham's announcements during his first 24 hours on the job underscore the political and financial challenges he faces as he tries to jump-start the country's sluggish economy.

Burnham, from Britain's left-leaning Labour Party, faces restive voters seeking relief from the high cost of living. At the same time, the investors who help finance the government by buying its bonds are demanding that he reduce public sector debt that has ballooned to levels last seen in the 1960s.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have forged a new agreement that could potentially provide the kingdom with uranium enrichment capability for its civilian nuclear program.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman formally signed the nuclear cooperation agreement, known as a "123 agreement," alongside what the Trump administration described as a "bilateral safeguards agreement."

Before the war in Iran, roughly 15 million barrels of Persian Gulf oil were shipped each day through the Strait of Hormuz. Within a few years, much of that oil could bypass the strait.

As Iran's chokehold over the strait drags on and oil prices surge, countries across the Gulf are planning to spend billions of dollars to build pipelines enabling them to redirect more supplies to ports along the Red Sea, Suez Canal and Gulf of Oman.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels said early Thursday they had attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, and the U.S. military conducted a 12th night of strikes against Iran as the two countries vie for control of vital shipping lanes.

The Houthi attack in the Red Sea threatened to open a new front in a war that has roiled the global economy, sending prices for fuel and other goods surging across the world. With the standoff in the Gulf deepening, there were no signs of progress in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.